shredded tampon

[csun]

Hello, I inserted a tampon today, day 3 of my period (which was unusually light) and I didn’t insert it far enough. Rather than fanagle uncomfortably to push it up further with my fingers, I chose to pull it out. Lucky for me it was really stuck up in there cause I was totally dry. I squatted and deep breathed and relaxed and pushed and it was lodged pretty incredibly with just a quarter inch or so hanging out of me, so as I pushed I also pulled on it. I could hear it sort of coming apart as I pulled so I did my best to be gentle but as it was partially in me and partially out at that point, I just needed it out. I finally birthed a totally dry and pretty shredded little tampon that looked like it’d been plucked and pulled. It resembled an oblong cotton ball in many ways, and you could see from the way it’s hairs stuck upwards that it’d been dragged out unwillingly. No chunk of it was actually missing - I took apart a new tampon to compare their sizes and they were the same - but it was like a cat that’s scared and puffs itself up in defense, or a kid’s hair after riding a rollercoaster.

Well needless to say I was immediately in a great deal of vaginal pain from all that dry labor so I took some Tylenol, put on two pairs of underwear, and drank some raspberry leaf tea. That seemed to get my period going a bit again and I passed some clots over the next few hours whenever I used the toilet. However this evening, about six hours after the birth, I found myself in very uncomfortable vaginal pain along with some itchy sensations. I took more Tylenol and drank more raspberry leaf tea but am only producing light cranberry colored residue on my toilet paper.

So, to make a short question long (sorry!) do you think I can assume that my blood has / or will help pass any lil cotton shreds left over? I mean, this has to happen all the time, right? or shall I lube up my fingers and do a wipe?

I’m a survivor of childhood sexual assault and to be honest am not really thrilled at the idea of getting all up in there, especially considering I am staying at my parent’s house currently (I’m a 26 year old woman) and there’s little privacy. But if you think that’s what i have to do to avoid infection, please let me know. I’m going to bed now, so I trust if I do the lube pass in the morning it won’t be too late to fend off any infections such as TSS? It wouldn’t be a full 24 hours since the event, more like 18, but I know TSS can come about in as little as 12 hours (?)

Thanks and hope some part of this gave you a laugh!

[csun]

So I ended up being too nervous and decided to lube it up. I thought it’d be like using your finger to scrape the last of the cake batter out of a bowl, but it was more like sticking your finger in a straw while someone sucks on the other end. I could only put my finger in: it was so tight I couldn’t even twist it around. I tried to feel for anything but didn’t. I took my finger out and it was bloody. I rinsed and lubed again, managed to twist my finger inside my vagina a bit but same result - just blood. Not even sure how I would be able to get something out with it being so tight. Disappointed but proud of what I’d done (and also ready to abandon it for something more relaxing), I took a warm bath with a tiny bit of Epsom salts to relax my muscles, and now I’m going to bed (sorer than before). Am I done? Can nature take it from here? Should I sue the tampon companies?

[Sam W]

Hi csun,

Ooof, this sounds like a really uncomfortable situation. We can't know this for certain without having been there, but it sounds like by the time you went to remove the tampon it had already started to puff up. Tampons are designed to be able to expand, so the one you used may have done that just a bit. If that was the case , then it's unlikely any pieces came off. Too, checking with your finger and finding nothing also suggests that there wasn't a ton of breakage.

However, it is possible for bits of a tampon to come off. If that happens, you're correct that the pieces often get carried out along with things like period flow and other discharge, and can sometimes be found coming out of the vagina a week later. That by itself is nothing major, but if you notice symptoms like itching, dizziness, headaches, or a foul scent, then you would need to go to a healthcare provider. Does that help clarify things at all?

[Mo]

csun, I don't know what brand of tampon you were using here, but Kotex just issued a recall on some of their tampons and I wanted to make sure we gave you that info: https://www.ubykotex.com/en-us/recallfaq If this is the brand you were using, make sure you don't use any other tampons from that package. I hope you're doing ok after this incident and haven't had any further issues.